Gilded Cage
by diesfromfandoms
Summary: In an alternate universe, Mai is the princess of the Fire Nation, and Zuko is a nobleman's son. Maiko, heavy canon divergence
1. Chapter 1

Mai looked up at her father, Ukano. He was trying to teach her how to firebend. Again. Ukano had been trying to teach Mai how to firebend ever since she'd turned five two months ago and still hadn't been able to produce a single spark. He had said that if she was going to be Fire Lord one day- which Mai definitely would be when the time came, since Ukano was the fire lord and she was his only child- she had to be able to bend. She wanted to be a good ruler, someday many many years in the future, so she listened to him and watched him closely.

"Like this, see?" he said, lunging and punching in one quick motion. A small ball of fire shot from his hand, filling the air in their palace gardens with thick gray smoke. "Try it."

After a moment of carefully studying her father, who repeated the form perfectly each time, Mai gave it a try. She leaned hard to the side, bending one knee, and punched the air. Nothing happened. She tried it again, a little faster this time. Still nothing. Nothing ever happened, but she'd been hopeful that this time she'd get a spark. Or a cloud of smoke. Or maybe just a little wave of heat. She tried it over and over and over, but every time she tried, nothing happened. It never even sort of worked.

"Do it a little faster," Ukano said. "It can't be slow at all. This isn't some kind of... barbaric _Earthbending_."

"I am going faster!" Mai protested, panting.

"Don't talk back to me, Mai. I know what I'm talking about," the Fire Lord snapped. "Now, do what I told you."

Mai sighed, inaudibly so her father wouldn't be able to hear, and sped up the pace. Sweat dripped down her brow, and he watched her, sternly and impatiently.

"Are you even _trying_?" Ukano asked, frustrated. "Why isn't this working?"

"I don't know! I'm trying my best!" Mai said, not daring to take a break yet. "Maybe, maybe I'm just not a bender."

"Nonsense! Of course I can bend. And your mother, my late wife was a bending prodigy." Ukano shook his head. "Maybe I need to get you a professional."

"A… professional?" Mai asked, pausing.

"Yes. I don't have time to waste on this, because obviously whatever I'm doing isn't working. It isn't tapping into your potential. We can get a man to teach you classically, to teach you well, and I'm sure you won't disappoint me. I'm sure you'll become a great firebender. Just a few hours, five days a week with a teacher for a few years, and you'll learn."

Mai sucked in her breath. She already didn't look forward to her lessons, and they were with her father, maybe once or twice a week. If she had to start training for hours and hours every day with a stranger, she would hate it. She already hated it, and they hadn't even begun yet. Her face twisted up against her will.

"No! I don't _need_ to learn how to bend, I don't _want_ to learn how to bend- it's a waste of time! Besides, I've gone more than five whole years without it at all and I'm perfectly fine!" Mai complained. "Please, please don't make me do it!"

"If you would just make your first fire on your own, I wouldn't have to." Ukano said. Mai sobbed into the dirt in response.

"That's it, Mai. Get on the steps. I can't have you throwing a temper tantrum whenever something doesn't go completely your way."

Ukano picked her up, over his shoulder, and sat her down on the grand staircase inside the palace. Mai wanted to wiggle out of his arms. She wanted to scream and cry She wanted to climb out and run, but she didn't. She knew better. She should have known better in the first place, anyway. So she just sighed and relaxed and tried to relax. Inside, though, she was fuming. She just didn't see what the big deal was. So, she couldn't bend. So what? Lots of people couldn't bend. And yet her father was going to make her learn something she would never be able to do anyway.

* * *

The teacher arrived the next day. He looked terrifying, a hard look in his eye and a grizzly scar on his neck. Mai wanted to hide from him, but instead she just trailed far behind him when he took her to the training grounds. The teacher sat down on a tall hill, his legs crossed over each other, and had her sit across from him. She followed his instructions, resigned. He closed his eyes and demonstrated breathing exercises that were supposed to help her feel the sun, but didn't seem to do much of anything. Still, she did them- long, deep breaths with her eyes closed, focusing on the heat of the sun on her back. It was a hot, sunny day- typical for a fire nation summer- but she got the feeling that being able to tell it was hot wasn't exactly what her teacher wanted.

He didn't let her move an inch for at least an hour. Somehow, her teacher could tell whenever she started to squirm, whenever she tried to sneak away from her training. Eventually she was forced to just give up, and for an hour, she just sat still and tried to focus on the sun. Only, there wasn't much to really even focus on in the first place. It was just warmth, it was just light, and she couldn't stand it at all.

Finally, the "sit-down-on-the-floor-and-breathe" part was over, at least, but that meant it was time to move on to the "practice these firebending forms" part. The teacher spent another hour going over each and every form and making her practice it until it was perfect, but no fire came out. No fire ever came out. When the day was over and she was covered in sweat and nothing good had come of it, Mai was sure that she would at least be free of this teacher now, since he obviously hadn't accomplished anything. She was wrong. The teacher came back every other day for weeks and weeks, and she didn't learn anything at all except for how to sit still and make it look like she was concentrating on some really far away ball of fire.

By then, she had given up. She'd actually given up a long time ago, but now she knew she would never be able to. One day, over dinner, she told her father.

"I have something to tell you," Mai said one day. "I'm not a firebender. I keep trying and trying, but it's not working out."

"Mai!" her father said. "Just..try _harder_. This is going to work. It _has_ to work."

"I've gone my whole life without it! That's _five whole years!_ I'm sure that I'm never going to need it, anyway, and I don't think you can force bending into someone. Right?" Mai said, adding a bite to her words that would be more con

"Mai, mind your tone. Even if you were being a little respectful, you're just _five years old_. So you haven't had to defend yourself yet, or go to war? Someday you might have to, and if you can't bend, you won't be able to."

"Lots of people can't bend, and they're perfectly fine!" Mai said, a little too loudly. Her father shot a sharp glare, and she shrank back in her seat.

" _They_ won't be Fire Lords one day! You can't be a Fire Lord and not be able to bend, Mai. It's just how it works. And since you killed your mother when you were born, it's not like we have any other options. You have to be Fire Lord, and that mean that I will just have to do whatever it takes to make you a bender!" Ukano shouted from across the dinner table. There was red-hot anger in his eyes.

Mai pouted at him, tears pricking the back of her eyes. It wasn't like she had meant to kill her mother. Michi had apparently died in childbirth, and although he didn't bring it up often, and most of the time he was very kind, when Ukano was especially angry with her, he would sometimes give her guilt about it. It hadn't been her fault, she was pretty sure. She ate her dinner as fast as she could and ran up in her room, not wanting her father to see her cry. That would only make things worse. Ukano would probably start telling her all about how she was crying over nothing, and he hadn't meant it, and wouldn't she stop crying _please_ and just listen to reason and forgive him already?

She always hated it when he did that.

Over the next few weeks, she didn't improve. She stopped even trying, only doing the bare minimum so that her teacher wouldn't start yelling at her. Soon, though, it was the first day of the Fire Festival, and her Aunt and Uncle would be visiting.

Her mother had had two siblings- Mura, an older woman who was a florist in the little town that Michi had been born in, and Kanshu, who was a warden at a big prison. She'd never visited either of them, because it was too far away for a little girl to go alone and her father didn't have time to be away for more than a day or two at a time, but sometimes her family came to see her. And her father, too.

She had on her best clothes, which were bright red silk and decorated with a gold trim, and she was practically bouncing up and down with excitement. She always loved it when her family came in- she barely saw them outside of holidays, and letters were always a little awkward, since she couldn't write yet- at least, not legibly- and so she normally had to dictate them to a palace servant. It wasn't like she had to keep any secrets or anything, it was just uncomfortable.

Her aunt arrived first. Mura bent down to hug her, and Mai threw her arms around her.

"Princess Mai! You've gotten so big since I last saw you!" Mura said, standing back from her niece. Mai scratched the back of her head awkward and gave an uncomfortable laugh.

"Um, thanks, Aunt Mura," Mai said, not sure how to start the conversation. "How- how's your flowers?"

"Flow-? Oh, you mean the shop!" Mura laughed. "It's fine. Business has actually been very good lately, what with the festival and all. You know, I don't think I've ever been happier than when I started this shop. You have to find some happiness in your life, you know."

Mai opened her mouth to talk- she was about to complain about the whole firebending problem she was having- but just then, her father walked in. Mura bowed in front of him, and Mai clammed up immediately. She couldn't complain about it to her father; it would just ruin the whole day anyway.

"Hello, Mura. How are you?"

"Oh, I'm fine. How are you, Fire Lord?" Mura asked.

"I'm just wonderful."

"Glad to hear it."

Her father and aunt sat down on a long, wine red sofa to continue their conversation, and Mai followed them, plopping down on the cushion next to her father. She tried to pay attention to the conversation, but to her it was really nothing but noise- she didn't understand what they were talking about half the time, when they started talking about nobles whose names they'd never heard, and the war she knew next to nothing about, or politics. So she just curled up into a ball and tried to pay attention.

"And you know, the Ty family? They're pregnant _again_. This has to be, what, the fifth or sixth time?" Mura said, shaking her head. "I really can't imagine, and they're all right in a row like that!"

"I've never really understood either of those two. The man is a good general, though, he won is half the northern colonies." Ukano said, trying to compromise.

"True, true. You can hardly tell the girls apart, anyway, and they've all got the same name- Ty Lee, Ty Lo, Ty Lin…" her aunt sighed. "They can't keep their hands off each other!"

"They're probably trying for a boy, Mura. Which I can completely understand, really."

"Why? I don't really get it," Mai asked

"You'll understand when you're older, Mai." Ukano patted her head. "Then, it will all make sense to you."

"He's right, you know. You should listen to your father," Mura said.

Mai pouted and turned her head. A little while later, her uncle appeared. He was out of his uniform. He was one of those people who could look terrifying if he wanted, or very warm if he wanted. Around his niece, he was very warm. Mai leaped out of her seat and ran up to him. Kanshu bent down to her height and wrapped his arms around her.

"Mai! How've you been?" he asked.

"I'm great! How are you?" she asked. "Everyone's in the other, come on." She led him through the high-ceilinged hallways into the sitting room where Mura and Ukano were talking about politics. Kanshu bowed to the Fire Lord and greeted his sister, and sat down on the long couch with the rest of the family.

They ate dinner soon after. It was a spicy, steamed pig chicken dish. The meat was flavorful and tender and almost melted in the mouth. She sank her teeth into it and closed her eyes. Food was always the best around holidays, or when they had guests. Or when both happened at the same time. The spices warmed her stomach, and she sighed contentedly.

"So, Mai, did you tell your aunt and uncle about your firebending training?" Ukano asked, grinning.

"No," she answered, too fast and not meeting his eyes.

"You're a firebender? That's great to hear!" Kanshu exclaimed.

"I'm not a firebender," Mai mumbled.

"What did you say, Mai?" Ukano said, leaning in.

"I said I'm not a firebender." She bit her lip nervously, anticipating her father's anger. He huffed and put an arm on her shoulder.

"She's just frustrated nothing's happened yet. Go on, Mai, tell them about it."

She sighed, but followed his directions. "My teacher comes here for a few hours everyday and I have to sit on a hill and focus on the sun for an hour and take deep breaths, and everyone keeps telling me that it's supposed to be some sort of presence but to me it just feels kind of hot. And then I do these forms for a while and he keeps telling me that I have to force my body's energy out my arm and then there will be fire. But there isn't any energy in my body and it doesn't do anything. I just don't think I can do it! And I have to, but I just can't. I can't do anything." She squeezed her eyes shut and made fists under the table, trying to hide her emotions. After a minute, she relaxed enough to unclench her fists and open her eyes and look normal.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out someday, Mai," Ukano said. Her uncle and her aunt looked at her nervously, and she stuffed the rest of the meal down in silence. It tasted salty and bland now.

Later that evening, her uncle found her curled up in a ball under a tree. The sun was about to set, and he sat down next to her.

"Mai?" he asked.

"Yeah?"

"I'm just thinking that, maybe, when you're a little older, that maybe I can start teaching you how to throw yet, not today, but when you're ready. I have a practice set I can give you…"

"Really?" Mai asked, lighting up immediately. It sounded wonderful. If she couldn't bend- and she knew she never would- she would love to know how to throw knives. It already sounded fascinating. "I'd love to."

 **Author's Note**

 **Hi! The idea for this is basically: What if Mai and Zuko switched places? How would things change? I apologize if Mai seemed a little out of character here, but I feel that's to be expected seeing as she's five and hasn't gone through a lifetime of being forced to be her parent's perfect doll yet. I really hope you like this, and it's going to be long- like probably at least fourteen or fifteen. I plan to update regularlyish. Thank you so much for reading I love you!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

 _In which Mai goes to the Royal Fire Academy For Girls_

Her new school uniform was crisp and fairly uncomfortable- the scarlet tunic itched and was way too hot for Fire Nation summers- probably Fire Nation winters, too. Probably too hot for everywhere except for maybe the Water Tribes, and even then she was doubtful, having never been anywhere close to either one. Mai already hated the uniforms and she already hated school, too, even though she hadn't even started it yet and would have to attend for what sounded like an eternity- seven years, until she was fourteen. Today would be her very first class in her life..

Scowling, she crossed her arms over her chest and huffed, blowing her bangs out of her eyes. They were getting way too long and kept falling in her face. She figured she should probably get them cut soon. Mai was good and sat as still as she could in the palanquin, although it was so hot and muggy she wanted to sprawl out on her back. Anything to keep cool. She would have, too, but she knew that you weren't supposed to do that. It made it awkward for the palanquin bearers if you moved around a lot, or something. Today was the first day she'd be attending the Royal Fire Nation Academy for Girls, and she'd be a hot sweaty mess the whole time.

Finally, the palanquin bearers set her down and she stepped out. It was almost just as hot outside, and maybe a little less humid. When she walked in the school building, though, with it's cold stone walls, it was much cooler. A pair of guards trailed behind her as she made her way to class- they wouldn't stay in the room with her, but they escorted her through the halls and would pick her up from the classroom on the way home. She scanned each door carefully, unsure which one she should be looking for. Finally she found it and pushed it open. The classroom was empty except for the teacher, a tired looking old woman with high cheekbones and full lips.

Mai bowed to her teacher, holding an open palm above her fist. The teacher returned the gesture. Mai stood there, silently.

"You can go ahead and take a seat here," the teacher said, gesturing with a pointed stick to the rows and rows of desks in the classroom.

Mai scanned the classroom, and picked a desk by the windows in about the middle of the classroom.

The girls started to slowly shuffle in, each and every one wearing the same bright red girls' uniform. Everyone would bow before the teacher, who would then direct them to take a seat. The teacher did not bow back, not to them, and Mai wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel about it. It was probably because she was the princess, she thought, and left it at that. The other students were given the same freedom to choose their seats, but they didn't sit by her. Nobody did, and they gave her a wide space. That, on the other hand, definitely upset her, but she didn't show it. They didn't know what to do about her. She could see that clear enough, with the wide space around her on either side and the way sometimes, their eyes would widen when they saw her. Mai wasn't sure what she had expected; she _had_ wanted to make a friend here, maybe, but that wouldn't be possible if her classmates didn't even want to talk to her. If they didn't sit next to each other, they wouldn't talk. And then she wouldn't meet anyone. The room was already filled with excited giggles and chatter.

She had all but resigned herself to that when two girls pulled in next to her- one of them had her brown hair in a braid with long side swept bangs, the other had dark brown hair that was almost black and in a topknot. They walked together to

"Hello, I'm Azula," said the girl with the topknot. Gesturing to her friend, she said, "This is Ty Lee. Is it alright if we sit here?"

"Yeah, yeah, of course," Mai said, relieved.

"Wait a minute. You're the princess!" Ty Lee said, pressing a hand to her mouth. "I- wow. It's an honor to meet you, Princess Mai!"

"Yeah, it's nice to meet you too," Mai said, feeling slightly uncomfortable. "Are you going to sit down, or.."

Ty Lee giggled and slid into the seat next to Mai. Azula took the one in front. The teacher started counting heads with her stick, mouthing under her breath as she did. _Twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty eight…_ Finally, she seemed satisfied, and she tapped the thin wooden stick hard on the desk, silencing the class. Everyone clammed up and turned away from their conversation or whatever else they were doing, looking straight ahead at the teacher.

"Hello, girls. I am Nori. It's a pleasure to meet you all and I'm sure that, in time, all of you will excel here. I'm going to go around the room and everyone introduce yourselves- what's your name, can you bend, what's your family like, that sort of the thing. Okay, you first," she said, pointing to the girl in the upper left corner.

Daiyu went around the room, row by row, and Mai hardly paid attention until it was Azula's turn.

"My name is Azula. I'm a good firebender. I have an uncle and a cousin. I live with my grandfather, my parents, and my older brother."

"I'm Mai. My family- um, I live with my dad and I have an aunt, Mura, and an uncle, Kanshu, on my mom's side, and they both live pretty far away so I don't see them much. I'm not a bender," Mai said.

"Alright, Mai. Now, you," Nori said, pointing at Ty Lee.

"I'm Ty Lee! I have six sisters, two younger and four older, and I live with my parents. I like gymnastics a lot."

Nori moved down two seats and continued around, but Mai barely gave it any attention. Finally, her teacher was done and moved to the front of the classroom, holding the pointer loosely behind her back.

"Well, it's a pleasure to get to know you all, and I'm sure we'll all get to know each other better as time goes on." Nori said. "Before I really begin, all of you can read and write, yes?"

Hands shot up, Mai's included. She had been tutored in it over the past few years.

"Good. Now, everyone come to the front so I can give you your supplies," Nori said, opening a drawer under the desk. She passed out writing supplies and textbooks, which each girl took back to her desk.

The first half of the school day passed by slowly, but it was easier than she'd thought it would be. She barely had to do anything, but it was boring. Very, very boring, and they weren't even allowed to talk to fill all the extra time. Eventually, they broke for lunch and the teacher led them down to the kitchens, to show them where it was. There were trays of food laid out, and cooks filled their bowls with pre cooked, heavily seasoned hawk salmon, rice and vegetables. They went outside into the courtyard to eat. There were lots of blooming bushes with flowers, and a small bed of fire lilies around the school building. It was grassy, with lots of lush, green trees providing shade. There were benches, but they were all out in direct sunlight. Mai sat down beneath a large, leafy tree, trying to find some refuge from the heat. She had thought it was bad in the morning, but now, in the heat of the day, it was somehow even worse. As she started to eat her lunch, Ty Lee sat down next to her for the second time that day. It was a surprise, though not an unpleasant one.

"Hi, Mai! Is it alright if I sit with you?" Ty Lee said.

"You don't need to ask," Mai said, laughing. "So how are you?"

"Oh, I'm okay." Suddenly, Ty Lee gasped, and couldn't help but laugh as she told the story. "So last night, my sister, Ty Lao, she almost burned the whole house down! She was trying that one firebending thing where they focus and keep something from burning- yeah. Didn't work! I'm not even sure if she's a bender or not or whatever, but anyway. There was a fire! Everyone got out okay though, in the end." Ty Lee said, giggling. "She's always doing stuff like that. You know how it is with sisters. "

Mai let out a small laugh. "I don't have any siblings."

"Oh. Right." she said, slapping her forehead in embarrassment. She had long, sideswept bangs that stopped above her right eye. "I'm sorry. So! What's that like? I have a lot of sisters, and I love all of them, but a person gets curious."

"I don't know. It's a little lonely sometimes, and since I'm the only kid around there's not really anyone to play with, but it's okay. I just do things by myself most of the time," Mai said, lifting a bite of food to her mouth. "I'm not sure, though, because I've never had any brothers or sisters. I can't compare it to anything." The fish was spicy and delicious. It was great food.

"Hmm. Well, I I've always had sisters my whole life. A _lot_ of sisters. It's always loud in the house and there's always people running around."

"Wow. Can't really imagine that at all," Mai said. Just then, someone came up behind them. It was one of the girls from her class, Azula.

"Hi, 'Zula," Ty Lee said, waving. She patted the ground next to her. "Come sit with us!"

Azula sat down carefully, holding the steaming bowl of food in one hand. "So, what are we talking about?"

"Just our siblings," Mai said. "So do you have any siblings?"

"I thought I said I had an older brother. Zu-Zu can't do anything right, and he's so gullible, too!" Azula said. "He is fun to mess with, though."

"Is his name _really_ Zuzu?" Mai asked.

"No. It's just a family nickname."

The lunch break ended soon enough, a high noise was sounded and the girls quietly filed back into the classroom. Mai hadn't been particular about her seat and hadn't memorized where it was, so she followed behind Ty Lee and let the other girl slide into her seat before Mai sat down. Nori waited a few moments for the stragglers to arrive, and when they did, she tapped her pointer on the desk to get their attention, the same way she'd been doing all day. Then, the teacher passed out small pieces of paper to get signed by parents and the students themselves- the rules of the class and the school, the expectations, that sort of thing. If they were broken enough, the students could be punished to a degree. The rest of the day was about as boring as the first half, but Mai held onto a tinge of excitement. She was fairly certain that she had succeeded, after all, and had made a friend.

Class was dismissed after what felt like years of sitting there not doing anything. They weren't even learning anything; the first day was just little starting things. The teacher explained the class, explained the school, gave them ink brushes, boring things like that, and wouldn't let them talk or make any noise. Mai gathered up her things from inside the desk and rushed out the door, back into the heat. A silent pair of guards escorted her back home, picking her up from outside the classroom and trailing behind her in the palanquin. She still rode it, but was self conscious about it in a way she hadn't ever been before.

The ride back home was just as awful and boring and humid and stuffy as the ride to school had been, but maybe it hadn't been as bad as she'd expected. Probably, it would be worse tomorrow, since the teacher had already eased them into the schedule or whatever, but today it hadn't been that bad. She had some girls, now, who she was pretty sure could end up being her friends. When she finally arrived home and the palanquin bearers set her down, Ukano found her right away.

"How was school?" her father asked.

"It was boring." Mai said, thinking. "But I did meet some girls."

"Friends?"

"No. Well, maybe. We talked during lunch and it was nice.

"That's good. You want to make some strong foundations for friendship with the other girls. It will make their families more loyal, if their daughter is close with the princess."

"Oh. Well, I just thought they were nice to talk to," Mai said, rubbing the back of her neck. "Ty Lee and Azula."

"Even if they are nice to talk to, what I told you will still probably happen," Ukano said, heading upstairs to his office. Mai held her tongue and went into her room, where she changed out of the uniform and into regular clothes. She gave the uniform to a servant to wash and stayed up in her room for the most of the afternoon, thinking.

 **AN:**

 **I'd like to thank whoever Avatar101 is for giving me that review because I probably would have abandoned this otherwise I thought it was so bad. It probably isn't that great but at least one person wanted me to continue this. Was I going to disappoint this _one_ person? No. No I was not. It just meant a lot to me so thanks so much. So yeah, these first few chapters are, 1, going to have lots of time jumps, and 2, be fairly lighthearted, but that will change eventually. Thank you for reading this!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

 _In which Mai quite literally runs into Zuko._

She was wearing the golden crown for the heir to the throne in her hair, and she was sitting perfectly still. She was silent, and her face was a mask that did not tell any of the nobles wandering around the room anything. It was one of those things she absolutely despised- these useless, pointless, boring court functions. Mai just hated everything about them. She was dragged away from anything else she could have been doing- like practicing her aim with the set of practice knives and scrolls her uncle had given her a couple months ago. She could bring her friends up to the palace. Maybe go down to her friends' homes, even. Ty Lee and her family lived in the city, though they were a few miles away. She could be… studying, even, not that she enjoyed that in the least. Still, anything in the world would be better than _this_. They were in a newly-gained colony in the Earth Kingdom. Apparently they were celebrating it, though to Mai, it didn't seem like much of a celebration. It wasn't even sort of fun.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, her father left the room with one of the noblewomen and Mai was free. He couldn't force her to do anything if he couldn't even see her. If Ukano wasn't even in the room, he couldn't stop her from getting up and moving around, or glare at her if her expression was wrong, or she was fidgeting too much, or she said something she shouldn't have. She jumped out of the chair, and she wasn't sure what she was going to do. She looked around, checking to see if any of the girls in her class had been dragged along with their families, too. She couldn't see anyone, at least not in that room, and it was just so boring.

So Mai made a decision. She left. She jumped out of her seat and she took off running. She was free, finally, to do whatever she wanted, only she wasn't actually sure what it was she wanted to do. She'd never been here before, this Earth King's palace had only just been taken. She had never been in the Earth Kingdom before, period. She was hardly even paying attention to her surroundings; Mai just wanted to be _gone_ as soon as possible so her father wouldn't actually see her leave. She would not be held back.

Mai ran out the door- the one at the other end of the building from where her father had left- and crashed into someone. It was a boy, around her age but maybe a year or so older. She cringed instantly.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" he said, scowling.

"I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying attention-"

"It's fine, it's fine." he said, waving his hand dismissively. "So where are you going that fast, anyway?"

Mai dug her nails into her arm, looking down and hiding behind her bangs. "I just had to get out of there. You know how awful these things are, right? It's not just me?"

"No! My sister always gets so mean when she's bored."

"Huh." Mai's eyes lit up. "You want to see the rest of this castle with me?"

"Sure! But what's your name again?"

"Mai."

"Zuko. Wait a minute! You aren't- Are you the princess?" Zuko said, eyes wide.

"Yeah. Come on." Mai said, pulling him along by his arm. She couldn't help but wonder why the name sounded so familiar.

The castle was similar to estates in the Fire Nation, although it was a little different. It had been an Earth King's castle once. It was made of gray and brown stone, instead of whatever red material the walls of her palace were made of. The symbols of the Earth Kingdom- the country as a whole, and the province that this had once belonged to- were covered in portraits of the noble family and fire nation flags, but they poked out a bit underneath. Thick, red carpets covered the floors, and gold covered everything they could put it on. It had just been won a couple weeks ago, and even the new, governing family of the province had just moved in, changing everything they could as soon as they could, but it was still basically an Earth Kingdom castle, and it was absolutely fascinating. There was red everywhere, but it was still an Earth Kingdom palace. The stone, the statues that seemed to grow out of the ground, were still there, but even though it was mostly similar to Fire Nation castle. Mai's eyes were wide, and she pointed at everything that caught her eye, grabbing Zuko and making him look, too. It was exciting. New. Fresh. She had never seen anything like the place in her entire tried every door they came across, but not a single one would budge, even if they both threw all their weight into it. I

At the end of the hallway, they found a door cracked open just a little bit. Mai looked into Zuko's eyes, and they took off running into it. She hardly knew them, but they were both looking for something fun. They were both looking to explore.

The green and gold door creaked shut behind them. The hallway had no windows and was cooler than the rest of the building. It was old and untouched and covered in cobwebs. Spiderants scurried across the floor. She could practically hear them. It felt like they were climbing up her skin. Mai tried to convince herself they weren't. It was darker, too, most of the torches were broken and darkened, and they were further apart, too. She could barely see Zuko, who was standing right next to her.

"Can you bend?" she asked, slipping behind him.

He sighed. "Yeah. But I don't have the best control."

"I can hardly even see you! Do it!" Mai said. She held one hand to the cold, stone wall to keep herself from walking into it.

Zuko groaned, but he lit a small ball of fire in his palm. It flickered wildly- sometimes it was small and barely there, like a dying candle, and sometimes it was huge in his hand, and Mai couldn't help but wonder if he was going to accidentally burn the place down. She didn't say it out loud, though.

It was like it was a maze. Down here was the real Earth Kingdom. She could hardly believe she'd been impressed with the rest of the castle. This place, whatever it was, this deserted part of the castle with its' winding hallways and no doors was incredible. It was just barely lit by crystals growing out of the walls. The crystals were so far apart that after Mai and Zuko passed one, they wouldn't be able to see the other for a long time. Zuko's flame was the only real light. They wandered around it for a long time. Mai felt chills creeping up her spine.

They entered another room. In the center were three decorated metal boxes. The next room over was exactly the same. They were all exactly the same

"What is this place?" Mai breathed.

"I think-" Zuko said, his face serious and deathly pale. "I think it's a tomb."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something move- probably just a rat pigeon living in those old boxes or something like that, but she wasn't thinking. Mai shrieked at the top of her lungs at the thought, and jumped back. Zuko grabbed her wrist and together they ran, sure that the dead Earth Kings had risen.

But by then it was too late. They were hopelessly lost and they had been for what seemed like hours. They were lost, and it seemed that there could be no way out. They tried to go back, but they only got more and more lost. Eventually, they had to give up.

"Do you know how to get out of here?" Zuko asked, slumped against a wall. He was sitting on the ground, his head in his hands. They'd given up maybe ten minutes ago on trying to retrace their steps.

"No! Why would I know? I've only been here once!" Her arms were crossed and she was leaning against the wall across from him, scowling. The walls were cold and so perfectly smooth they almost felt wet, even though they were completely dry. They seemed to go on forever, and the freezing halls- really, they were more like tunnels- had way too many turns and branches to possibly keep track of.

"I mean, you _do_ live in a castle. And _this_ is a castle." Zuko said. His hair was falling out of his ponytail.

"So?"

"Well, is there a pattern, or…"

"No. We're both going to die. Sorry I brought you down here," Mai said, trying not to seem as panicked as she was. As an afterthought, she added, "Oh, and for crashing into you.""

"Don't apologize. It's fine. It was actually kind of fun before we got lost," Zuko said. He smirked, and even the dark Mai could see he had a nice smile. "Spooky."

They were silent, and Zuko rapped his fingers against the stony wall. Mai ignored him, trying to come up with a way out.

"Hey, wait a minute. Do you hear that?" Mai asked, craning her neck.

"Hear what?" Zuko shot up, putting a hand to his ear and listened

"Doesn't that sound like… Music? A drum beat, or something?"

"We could be right underneath the dance floor!" Zuko said. "This is great!"

"Yeah, we're saved!" Mai said, sarcastically. "We just have to carve a hole in the ceiling and we're free!"

"Just call for help," Zuko said. "Scream."

Mai took a deep breath. She was ready to scream her lungs out, but just then, the doors burst open, and two people ran over to them. It was her father, and a woman she barely recognized as Azula's mother. Zuko's, too. Ukano knelt down and wrapped his arms around her. She looked over her shoulder, and Zuko's mother was doing the same thing.

"You can't just go missing like that, Mai! I was worried about you. I mean, really, I was gone for a minute and you just disappear!"

"I'm sorry!" Mai said.

"Just don't let it happen again," Ukano said, leading her out of the tunnels.

"There's a tomb back there. With a dead body."

Ukano sighed. "It isn't a tomb. I know what you're talking about, it's where the king that used to live here put his gold."

"Oh. Well, Zuko thought it was a tomb,"

Their parents led them back out to the palace, into the bright light of the regular halfnofnthe castle. They went back to the party, and were well behaved for the rest of the night. Mai and her father left two days early than planned and she was grounded as soon as they stepped through the door. Still, somehow, it hadn't been half as bad as she had thought. Most of the time, these things were terrible, but this one was different. Exciting. Better than expected. So was Zuko. Even though Azula insulted him practically every time she mentioned her older brother, he'd been alright. Interesting. New. If she had to describe him, he was maybe a little dramatic, but he was fun. She couldn't help wondering if she would ever see him again. Not that she wanted to get lost in a maze again, but she wouldn't mind getting to know him a little better. Of course, Azula would tease her mercilessly about it the second she found out, but that wasn't the worst thing in the world.

 **AN: This is dedicated to anyone who gave me a review. You are my inspiration, a blessing on this earth, my motivation, thank you so much, you're the reason this has more than one chapter! You're the reason this has any updates, you're very,** _**very**_ **valuable to me. Anyway, guest reviewer who is looking forward to seeing how Zuko and Mai's interactions are going to go and anyone who feels the same way, look at that! They met! I did not lie to you! Mai has met him. I hope you enjoyed this. Also sorry it took two weeks.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

She stormed outside into the palace gardens with her knives, trying to hide her anger from everyone- from the servants, and the guards at the door and especially from her father. Ukano was in just the other room and part of the reason why Mai was so angry, and she really wasn't in the mood to be lectured on how they were _royalty_ and shouldn't show _emotion_ and _blah blah blah_. Her father was always going on and on about that, and Mai was getting a little tired of it. Mai walked back maybe thirty paces from a tree, gripping a knife in one hand. They were real knives now; she had moved past the dull, safe ones meant for beginners three, four years ago.

She took a step back and sent her knives flying at the tree. They soared through the air, finally burying themselves into the tree with a satisfying thwack. They weren't that deep; she could dig them back out again without any difficulty. She threw them again, and again, and again, and every time she hit her target. The tension just rolled off her shoulders every time she threw her knives, and it helped calm her, at least a little. Finally, she dug them out for the last time and put them back in their holsters. She slumped down against the tree.

The problem wasn't that her father was getting married. That wasn't the issue at all. Well, sort of. The problem was that Fire Lord Ukano was marrying the absolute worst woman that Mai had ever met in her life, and Mai had spent her life surrounded by countless infuriating noblewomen. Still, out of all of them, she was the worst. Her father had proposed to the absolute worst person in all of the Fire Nation. Her future stepmother would become the bane of her existence. She was patronizing, demanding, selfish- _ugh_. Mai already couldn't stand the woman, and she could count on one hand the number of times that they'd spoke, or even seen each other face-to-face. She was even worse than Mai's father, and she was dreading the wedding. After that, Mai would have to live with her. Forever. And it wasn't even that far away anymore. She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, and tried to stop thinking about it. She'd have plenty of time to hate it in a few weeks.

* * *

Of course, as much as she dreaded the wedding, as much as she dreaded having that woman for a stepmother, the wedding had to happen eventually, and there wasn't anything she could do to stop it from happening. She wasn't even sure what she would do, if she could- it wasn't her choice. It was her father's. And even if she knew that it was a terrible choice, and for some reason he hadn't been able to figure it out after how many months, she had absolutely nothing to do with it. Mai just happened to be caught up in it. She had to drag herself out of bed several hours too early in the morning to get ready on time to leave, and she hated it. She hated every second of it, and she wouldn't even see her dad's fiance- her new stepmother- until the afternoon.

The wedding itself came too fast- although, really, for Mai, it would have been impossible for it to _not_ come too fast- and yet at the same time it seemed to drag on forever. Mai tried her best not to pay attention to it all, to the fire sages marrying her father and his bride. Her new stepmother. It really was packed to the gills with people. It seemed all of capitol city was there, or at least all the nobles and their families. Mai tried to at least pretend like she was paying attention, but the ceremony would have bored her to tears even if she didn't hate the bride. She'd never been to a wedding before, but it was about as mind-numbing as she'd expected. The bride and groom were in front of everyone, and her hair was all done up. Some Fire Sages said some cheesy stuff about unions and marital bonds and hope. They kissed. She spent most of the ceremony staring down at her feet, until finally it was over. Or at least the ceremony was over. Now the party had to begin.

The crowd stood up en masse after the ceremony, just as the band began to play. People got up and started to dance; for the most part they were couples. A few singles and children danced as well. A long table was lined with an array of food and drink, from smoked pighen to sugary pastries. Mai snaked through the crowd, trying to avoid being dragged into some conversation or another, or accidentally bumping into someone. She picked up a fruit tart and brought it back to her place in the corner of the room. She ate it slowly, scowling at everything and nothing.

"Mai!" Ty Lee called. Mai looked- she hadn't even seen her. It was like she popped out of thin air. Mai hadn't even known that Ty Lee was going to be there, but she supposed it made sense. Her family was highly respected, and Ukano had invited most of the capital's upper social circle.

"Hey, Ty Lee." Mai tried to force a smile, not wanting to put her problems on her friend. Ty Lee, of course, saw right through her, like she always did. She knew her too well to not. Ty Lee's forehead creased and she frowned, tilting her head to the side.

"Wait, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing," Mai said, scanning the room to think of something, anything to change the subject with.

"No, come on, tell me! What happened?"

Mai sighed, resigned. "It's my stepmother. I hate her. She's so patronizing- we've only met a few times and I already hate her. You know people like that, right? Who think you can't do anything for- for _some_ reason and they just treat you like your nothing, like you're some helpless baby. And then at the same time I can feel her judging everything I ever do or say with her eyes. She's so fake!" She said the words low, half-whispering them, because even over the noise of the music and all those people, she was still worried her father might overhear. Or even her new stepmom. Mai wasn't sure which would be worse.

Ty Lee gave a sympathetic look and put an arm on Mai's shoulder. "Yeah, I totally get what you mean," she said. "I can't stand when some people act like that, you know, constantly putting you down, or comparing you to other people."

"I know what you mean," Mai said, nodding. "I guess I'm just going to have to get used to her is all."

"Sorry," Ty Lee said, shrugging her shoulders and grimacing.

"No, it's fine. I don't want to drag you into my problems, anyway," Mai said, sighing. "Hey, wait, who were you talking about?"

"No one, no one," Ty Lee said, fidgeting with her hands. Mai raised an eyebrow, but let it slide. "And it's not you, that's not what I'm saying at all! Just- some people- do that, sometimes, to other people. Or, well, me too, I guess, and it's just mean, do you get what I'm saying?"

"Yeah! That's exactly it," Mai said.

The girls stayed by each other and talked for most of the rest of the wedding. After what felt almost like an eternity, the party drew to a close. It had stretched on for hours, late into the evening, but finally, finally, it was almost over. People began to leave, slowly at first and then all at once. Eventually, the room was empty. The reception might have over, but the reality was just beginning to sink in.

 **This is a terrible chapter and I'm sorry and I had no inspiration for this but I needed to write it and also I really want to start moving this along and I wanted some interaction with Ty Lee because she's an important character who I love. So this takes care of both with a chapter that I absolutely hated writing, but I forced myself to do it anyway. Mai is probably being pretty overdramatic but she really does hate her stepmother and she's like 12-13 at this point so I think it kind of makes sense. Anyway I'm sorry about every single word here but thanks for reading and reviewing I guess. This is just really not my best, I guess, but I just had to get this out and it feels off to me but I'd already waited too long. Sorry about that too.**


End file.
